Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Oak Ridge (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Oak Ridge. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Name Variations for Oak Ridge ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Oak Ridge: Oak Rdg. (or less commonly used: Oak Rdge. or Oak Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Ridge.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Oak Ridge is located in Woodford County.
To see how the shape of Illinois' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Woodford County: La Salle, Livingston, Marshall, McLean, Peoria & Tazewell.
Below are the counties that are near Oak Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Ridge:
- Woodford County (The home county of Oak Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Metamora
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Germantown Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bay View Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bay View Gardens is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View Gardens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
- Spring Bay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Spring Bay is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
- Washburn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Eureka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Roanoke
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Goodfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Benson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Secor
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Congerville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Panola
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Panola is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
- Bureau County
- Milo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Milo is located in Bureau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Breeds
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Breeds is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breeds
- Farmington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Knox County
- Yates City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- La Salle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Rutland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Dana
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Leeds
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Leeds is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
- Priscilla ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Priscilla is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priscilla
- Lostant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lostant is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lostant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
- Lostant has also been known as:
- Lost Ant
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lostant <1>
- Livingston County
- Flanagan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Hopewell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Hopewell is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
- Lacon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sparland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- La Rose
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Varna
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Toluca
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Henry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Camp Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Evans ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Evans is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Wenona
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- McLean County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Carlock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Danvers
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Danvers is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danvers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,093 people
- Danvers has also been known as:
- Danver
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danvers <1>
- Hudson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Yuton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Yuton is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuton
- Stanford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gridley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Peoria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Rome
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mossville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Chillicothe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Peoria Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Keller
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Keller is located in Peoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keller
- North Peoria
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- North Peoria is located in Peoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Peoria
- Peoria
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Hallock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- West Hallock is located in Peoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hallock
- West Peoria
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dunlap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Orange Prairie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Edelstein
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Magnolia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Putnam
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- McNabb
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Palatine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Palatine is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Palatine
- Hennepin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Stark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Speer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wyoming
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Castleton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bradford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Modena
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Modena is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modena
- Toulon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Jersey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Jersey is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jersey
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Harvard Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Harvard Hills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Hills
- Trailpark Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Trailpark Gardens is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailpark Gardens
- Washington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Beverly Manor
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Beverly Manor is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly Manor
- Sunnyland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Robein
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Robein is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robein
- Cooper
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Cooper is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
- Farmdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Farmdale is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmdale
- Highway Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Highway Village is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highway Village
- Caldwell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Caldwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caldwell
- Crandall ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Crandall is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall
- East Peoria
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- East Peoria is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peoria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 22,344 people
- Former name for East Peoria:
- Hilton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Oak Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Ridge.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Oak Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Winkler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Hickory Point Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Black Partridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- St. Marys Roman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Haedicke Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cemetery
- The Union Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hartman Cemetery
- Lone Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Spring Bay Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sand Ridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- County Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Morristown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (308 more) ...
- Imhoff Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ficht Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wrenn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<2>
While we didn't find Oak Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Metamora
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Spring Bay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Spring Bay is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Bay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
- Rome
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cazenovia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cazenovia is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cazenovia
- Mossville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Washington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Low Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Low Point is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Point
- Chillicothe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Keller
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Keller is located in Peoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keller
- Cruger
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cruger is located in Woodford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruger
- North Peoria
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- North Peoria is located in Peoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Peoria
- Farmdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Farmdale is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmdale
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Cooper
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Cooper is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
- Eureka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Washburn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oak Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Oak Ridge ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 283 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Ridge, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Ridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Oak Ridge:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Woodford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bureau County
- Fulton County
- Knox County
- La Salle County
- Livingston County
- Marshall County
- McLean County
- Peoria County
- Putnam County
- Stark County
- Tazewell County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Oak Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Oak Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |